North Michigan News

There were 8,564 students enrolled in Wexford County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 8.2% more than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 50.9% of the county student body, while the other 49.1% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 73.5% of the student body, the highest percentage in Wexford County schools, followed by 12.9% African American, 6.1% Hispanic, 5.9% multiracial, 0.8% Asian, 0.7% American Indian and 0.1% Hawaiian students.

Highpoint Virtual Academy of Michigan had the highest enrollment among Wexford County's 15 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 3,455 students.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,427,386 students enrolled in Michigan schools, a figure 4.8% below the pre-pandemic total of 1,499,552 in 2019-20, with white students seeing the largest decline of approximately 3%.

Academic performance in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels. According to the 2024 NAEP results, the share of students reaching the basic benchmark in core subjects is about 10 percentage points lower than in 2019—except for fourth-grade math, which saw a decline of just 2 points.

Achievement gaps between ethnic groups also persist. On average, Hispanic students scored 15 points below white students. The gap was even wider for Black students, who scored about 30 points lower than their white peers.

The 2025 education budget, approved by Gov. Whitmer last July, totals $23.4 billion—$900 million less than the previous year’s budget. K-12 schools are working with $20.6 billion, a reduction from the $21.5 billion allocated in 2024.

Some school superintendents and educators were concerned about the new budget. "Schools cannot function properly without adequate funding for safety and mental health," stated Rep. David Martin, R-Davison, referring to a significant cut of around $301 million from school safety and mental health programs. Based on the current bill, the program will receive just $26.5 million.

School name	Total enrollment in 2023-24	Total enrollment in 2024-25	% change
Highpoint Virtual Academy of Michigan	2,764	3,455	25%
Cadillac Senior High School	884	903	2.1%
Mackinaw Trail Middle School	710	683	-3.8%
Franklin Elementary School	584	563	-3.6%
Buckley Community Schools	481	488	1.5%
Lincoln Elementary School	489	480	-1.8%
Manton Consolidated Elementary School	347	345	-0.6%
Manton Consolidated Middle School	305	305	0%
Manton Consolidated High School	302	289	-4.3%
Mesick Consolidated Junior/Senior High School	288	276	-4.2%
Forest View Elementary School	250	257	2.8%
Floyd M. Jewett Elementary School	271	256	-5.5%
Cadillac Innovation High School	154	164	6.5%
Wexford-Missaukee ISD Special Education	88	100	13.6%